Montana 4th of July 2006

We visited Montana during Fourth of the July week, the first time we have seen Uncle Steve's new "retirement" project, 30 beautiful acres along the Bitterroot river that he will be developing into RV Condominiums in a couple of year.  The resort is at the southern-most beginnings of the Bitterroot river, the first piece of property just after the West Fork and East Fork of the Bitterroot join to form the main river.  Just up the mountain behind his property is the Continental Divide and the border with Idaho, and down the river a few miles is the town of Darby Montana.

Floating & Fly Fishing

Our trip to Montana was mostly about family, but it was also about learning to fly fish.  The first day, Rich practiced in waders while I was out shopping with Steve's girlfriend Sue, and the second day, while Rich nursed a pinched nerve that was affecting his legs, Sue and Steve and I floated down the river and did some fishing.  We embarked from Steve's property and floated for about three hours till it started to rain and we reached the Darby Bridge access ramp, where Steve and Rich had dropped of a truck earlier.  The three hours absolutely flew by, and Steve was a real trooper guiding me to the very best fishing holes.  And while I got a bunch of bites (one so big he snapped my line), Steve was the only one to actually catch a fish that day.

Driving the Valley & Mountains

I wanted to see a moose on this trip, probably my favorite animal, so we did a lot of driving up canyons and along streams during this trip.  While I never did see a moose, we did find some beautiful landscapes.  The highest mountains on the Continental Divide, visible from Steve's property, is Trapper peak.  Up the West Fork of the river is Painted Rocks Reservoir, which controls the main water flow into the Bitterroot river.  The weekend after we left, they were holding Logger Days in Darby, which is a huge logging competition that has been on TV in past years.  The last photo below is a metal scene fancied on a gate to someone's property, which is what Steve would love to do for his new resort.

Fourth of July Celebration

On the Fourth of July, Nancy and Jim came down from Hamilton and stayed in their camper for the night, and we had a great day sitting outside swapping stories and family news.  Rich & I ventured across the river to celebrate an important anniversary, because it was at this exact spot directly across from Steve's property that the Lewis and Clark expedition camped for the night on July 4th, 1806, exactly 200 years ago today.  Rich found this campsite listed on a Lewis & Clark map that we picked up at the National Forest site, so it was pretty cool to stumble into a bit of history.  As darkness fell, Trevor and Andrew ignited a spectacular fireworks display as Steve nervously imagined newspaper headlines about the newly relocated California real estate developer who set the Bitterroot valley ablaze on the Fourth of July.

The Birthday Boys

Rich's birthday was on the 5th and Steve's was on the 10th, and so to celebrate Rich's birthday, we picked a place halfway between Steve & Nancy's homes for dinner, settling on Bradley O's Homestead.  Afterward, Rich & I created a cupcake mountain stream fishing cake for Steve.

The Farm House

When Steve bought the property, he bought it to develop, and since he planned on tearing down the farm house, he never really wanted to even look at it, and certainly hasn't wanted to invest a lot of money in it.  In spite of that, by the time we arrived, Steve had carpeted and painted most of the house, and we even ordered some custom furniture to fit in specific spaces.

The Valley

Bitterroot Ranch, as the resort will be known, includes the riverfront parcels of two large ranches at the South end of the Bitterroot Valley, what locals know as the Hannon Ranch and the Conner Ranch.  Some people felt that Steve paid too much for these 30 acres of riverfront property, especially the guy from Intel who owns a lot of mountain property nearby.  However, the Bitterroot valley is a huge place, and there is only ONE place where the forks merge and the river begins and the valley opens up, and Steve now owns it all.

Wildlife

The search for moose lead to some pretty interesting finds.  On Steve's property we were visited daily by a family of deer, including a 10 point buck.  Up the West Fork, we met a family of mountain goats on the road, and as the kids made their way across the road, dad came just a few feet from the car and stared Rich down to make sure he wasn't going anywhere.